Safety concerns in relation to industrial service and maintenance operations have heightened in recent years. Federal and state regulations have been promulgated and implemented to increase occupational safety in the work place. Compliance with the regulations including the OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.147 requires that certain actions be taken to assure that machinery is safe to operate during normal operation and that machinery is isolated from any energy sources during maintenance or repair.
OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.147 requires that employers safeguard workers by locking and tagging out energy sources during maintenance and servicing operations. The purpose of locking out the energy source to the machinery or apparatus is to prevent accidental re-energization of the equipment when servicemen are in a compromised position in relation to the machinery or apparatus. Energization or operation of the equipment during service may result in serious injury or death. The regulations prescribe precautions to be taken during service or maintenance to insure that the energy sources for machinery are positively inactivated.
The locking out of energy sources to machinery and equipment when they are being serviced or maintained is accomplished with a number of devices that attempt, for example, to lock-out switches of circuit breaker boxes. These devices are intended to prevent the switches from being switched from the "OFF" position to the "ON" position and possibly injuring someone during service or maintenance of equipment associated with the circuit breaker.
Many of the current devices, while satisfying the literal requirement of the government regulations which apply, are limited in use by certain practical considerations. For example, most devices cannot lock-out individual circuit breaker switches without tripping adjacent switches, which may cause an undesirable interruption of service to the machinery or equipment associated with the adjacent switches. By further example, some devices are only useful for breaker boxes of certain manufacturers' panels, often resulting in numerous different lock-out devices at a single installation site. Other difficulties are common to devices that will only lockout switches a predetermined distance from the device, and lock-out devices that are difficult to install or require time consuming specialized training to operate. In addition, it is sometimes desirable to close the panel door to a circuit breaker box after locking out one or more switches, and many of the bulky devices and padlocks do not allow for this.
There are also circumstances under which it may be desirable to lock a circuit breaker "ON" to prevent accidental power failures to critical machinery, equipment, or systems. For example, it may be desirable to lock-on the power supply to particular security systems, computers, or lighting. Many of the typical lock-out devices do not accommodate both lockingon and locking-off with the same safety device. There is a need for a circuit breaker lock-out device that is simple to use, provides maximum protection to servicepeople, fits any manufacturer's circuit breaker panels, can lock-out circuit breakers in either the "OFF" or "ON" position, will lock-out indefinite lengths, and is easily installable.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or re of the issues set forth above.